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Welcome to The Philosophy Site! The events of September 11th confront us with the stark reality of good and evil, truth and falsehood, and our own delicate mortality. Regrettably, tragedies can be used to undermine and even dismiss the relevance of the quest for the good, the true and the beautiful. However, it is my conviction that such a temptation is misplaced. The idea that philosophy is no longer relevant after September 11th springs from the misconception that theory (i.e. contemplation, reflection, understanding) and practise (i.e. acting in the world) are completely autonomous from one another, or even opposed. When someone says, "He's the practical type," or "He's a doer, not a thinker," it can suggest some sort of dichotonomy between "thinking deeply" and being "practical." The truth is that man is both a thinker and a doer. If man were by nature incapable of thought, he would be incapable of human agency in the full sense of the term. Philosophy, properly understood, implies a wholehearted acceptance of the intimate bond between thought and action. Indeed, it is only by taking this unity seriously that the United States and the world can begin to digest the implications and lessons of September 11th.

This site was born in January 2000, with a view to providing a reasonably comprehensive guide to high quality philosophical resources on the web, but also with a view to to providing a public forum for the airing of philosophical views. Over the past 18 months (June 2000 - January 2002), the Philosophy Site has received over 10,000 visits. With this volume of traffic, I feel I owe it to my visitors to thank them and one way I can do this is by updating the site, which I have not been able to develop for quite some time.

In this latest version, I have added new links of interest. Also, in light of my own personal interests, I have compiled a selection of links pertaining to political philosophy and philosophy of law, entitled "Politics and Law." Finally, this updated version includes several additional essays and a brief academic CV.

As always, feel free to pay a visit to the Philosophy Discussion Centre where you can (hopefully) encounter and participate in some thought-provoking debates. Philosophy is not just something that is taught and read - it requires lively engagement with other people's ideas and arguments. From the Discussion Centre, messages (and responses) can be posted on the Message Board instantaneously, thus eliminating the need for a 'middle man', and providing a fully functional public forum for philosophical exchanges. I strongly encourage you to pay a visit to the Philosophy Discussion Centre. It depends for its success entirely on the participation of Philosophy Site visitors (Thanks to Yahoo/Geocities for hosting it).

The Philosophy Site is aimed at anyone who has an interest in philosophy, whether they be a student of philosophy (or a related discipline), somebody who has a personal interest in philosophy outside of academia, or somebody who has immersed himself or herself in an academic career either in philosophy or a related field. Whatever the reason for your interest in philosophy, I hope that you can glean something of interest from this site. I have selected a variety of philosophy or philosophy-related sites, both because of their quality (e.g. organization, comprehensiveness, layout, etc.) and because they have piqued my interest or I felt that they might be of general interest. However, it would be false to assume that any of the resources accessible through this site reflect my own philosophical views. My own views are reflected in the comments on this page and in my articles.

Some of you may be visiting this site out of curiosity. Perhaps the jury is still out on the value of philosophy. Perhaps you are wondering if philosophy is really as abstract and ephemeral as it seems from a distance. Some hardcore scientists have no time for philosophy because its questions cannot be put under the microscope or dissected by the scalpel.

However, just as Hamlet's question, "To be or not to be" is both meaningful and charged with mystery and human drama, philosophy aspires (albeit in a more analytic and systematic way than literature) to articulate and tackle the most important and momentous questions facing humanity. Comtean positivists and Marxists who thought that the human spirit could be contained and satisfied within an overarching materialist science missed the whole point of philosophy: that it reaches beyond what falls within the immediate grasp of the senses, to reality in its deepest and broadest sense. To read my comments on philosophy and truth, click here.

Philosophy means love of wisdom: in other words, as an activity, philosophical thinking arises out of man's universal desire to know. Without this fundamental desire, philosophy (and indeed, life as we know it) would cease to exist. Philosophy is much more than a speculative or semantic game: it is a means of forming a unified, sensible and rational vision of ourselves, other people, and the world we inhabit.

My personal observations and study of philosophy lead me to believe that it should be taken very seriously - the philosophy you live by has immense implications both for yourself and for the rest of society - and yet it should be studied in a reasonable and moderate fashion. Moderation and a sense of perspective are not always the most outstanding virtues of the philosopher. The ability to accept one's own limitations and finitude graciously, to laugh at one's own errors and weaknesses - intellectual or otherwise - would seem to me to be essential in light of the far-reaching (and indeed noble) ambitions of the philosopher, namely perfect knowledge, wisdom and happiness (not understood as a feeling, but as an enduring condition of being). While such objects of desire can only be glimpsed in this short life, I remain convinced that the glimpse in itself is worth a life's toil.

On a lighter note, I invite you to read the philosophical musings of a telesales executive who recently realised that she missed her true philosophical vocation. Mags's Metaphysical Musings should provide food for thought for many generations to come.

Apart from the Message Board, it is always interesting to hear feedback from visitors. Your comments, greetings and feedback are very welcome. Click here to e-mail me (dthunder@eircom.net).

Happy browsing!

Yours sincerely,

David Thunder

Doctoral Student,
Department of Government,
University of Notre Dame,
Indiana, U.S.A.

January 12th, 2002

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